e state
of affairs, and Ben Greenway there should have told you the moment he
met you. I am no longer a planter of Barbadoes; I am a pirate of the
sea, and the Jolly Roger floats above my ship. I belong to no nation; my
hand is against all the world. You and your ship have been captured by
me and my men, and your cargo is my prize. Now, what have you got on
board, where do you hail from, and whither are you bound?"

Captain Marchand looked at him fixedly.

"I sailed from London with a cargo of domestic goods for Kingston;
thence, having disposed of most of my cargo, I am on my way to
Bridgetown, where I hope to sell the remainder."

"Your goods will never reach Bridgetown," cried Bonnet; "they belong now
to my men and me."

"What!" cried Ben Greenway, "ye speak wi'out sense or reason. Hae ye
forgotten that this is Mr. Abner Marchand, your fellow-vestryman an'
your senior warden? An' to him do ye talk o' takin' awa' his goods an'
legal chattels?"

Bonnet looked at Greenway with indignation and contempt.

"Now listen to me," he yelled. "To the devil with the vestry and da--"
the Scotchman's eyes and mouth were so rounded with horror that Bonnet
stopped and changed his form of expression--"confound the senior warden.
I am the pirate Bonnet, and regard not the Church of England."

"Nor your friends?" interpolated Ben.

"Nor friends nor any man," shouted Bonnet.

"Abner Marchand, I am sorry that your vessel should be the first one to
fall into my power, but that has happened, and there is no help for it.
My men are below ransacking your hold for the goods and treasure it may
contain. When your cargo, or what we want of it, is safe upon my ship, I
shall burn your vessel, and you and your men must walk the plank."

At this dreadful statement, Ben Greenway staggered backward in
speechless dismay.

"Yes," cried Bonnet, "that shall I do, for there is naught else I can
do. And then you shall see, you doubting Greenway, whether I am a pirate
or no."

To all this Captain Marchand said not a word. But at this moment a
woman's scream was heard from below, and then there was another scream
from another woman. Captain Marchand started.

"Your men have wandered into my cabin," he exclaimed, "and they have
frightened my passengers. Shall I go and bring them up, Major Bonnet?
They will be better here."

"Ay, ay!" cried the pirate captain, surprised that there should be
female passengers on board, and Marchand, followed by